Michigan State's Keith Appling talks about his team's NCAA tournament pairings, Sunday, March 17, 2013, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State has received a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and will open the NCAA tournament against Valparaiso on Thursday in Auburn Hills, Mich.AP Photo

EAST LANSING -- The last time Michigan State won an
NCAA tournament game, Keith Appling hit a late 3-pointer that helped ensure the
Spartans would beat Saint Louis and advance to the Sweet 16.

The Billikens had spent the game backing away from
Appling and letting him shoot, as in his sophomore year he finished a 25 percent
shooter from beyond the arc.

Appling has struggled at times with his shot, but likely
wouldn't mind of teams during this year's March Madness didn't respect his
outside shooting.

"You see at the end, what happened to Saint Louis?"
Appling said Monday.

Appling this season has improved his 3-point shooting
to 31 percent, with a 4-for-7 performance from long distance in Saturday's Big
Ten tournament semifinal Ohio State giving the Spartans hope that he snapped
out of the 3-for-27 slump that preceded it.

"He looked comfortable shooting the ball," said Michigan
State coach Tom Izzo, whose team faces No. 14-seeded Valparaiso on Thursday in an opening-round game. "He worked on it extremely hard the last couple
weeks.

"It's fun to see a guy work a little harder on
something and have some success. Sure, he feels better. That's what it's
all about."

Said Appling after the Ohio State game, "I work
on my shot too much for me not to take them during the game."

Appling said he was inconsistent with his shot last season.
He spent more time coming into the gym in the offseason, and of late, he's been
feeling more confident.

"Going into the tournament around this time, I feel
like it's the perfect time with my shot falling," Appling said. "So hopefully,
it will continue to fall.

"You'd be surprised how much a difference one year can
make. I feel like I worked harder, and I got a lot better in certain areas. I feel
like that one year has helped me."